Thai leader won't quit, despite protests

Seth Mydans, New York Times

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, August 31, 2008

Photo: SUKREE SUKPLANG, REUTERS

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Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is seen before boarding a plane to the Thai seaside town of Hua Hin at an air force base in Bangkok August 30, 2008. Samak said on Saturday he would not quit in the face of growing protests aimed at toppling his seven-month-old government. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND) less

Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is seen before boarding a plane to the Thai seaside town of Hua Hin at an air force base in Bangkok August 30, 2008. Samak said on Saturday he would not quit in the ... more

Photo: SUKREE SUKPLANG, REUTERS

Thai leader won't quit, despite protests

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Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said Saturday that he would not resign in the face of continuing protests and a disruption of rail and air service that included a blockade of airports at two popular tourist resorts.

The prime minister called a special session of parliament today as members of his six-party coalition, meeting Saturday evening, told reporters they would stand by him.

"I, the prime minister, have come to office in the appropriate way, and I won't resign," Samak said, noting that he had taken office after a democratic election just seven months ago.

The protesters, calling themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy, accuse Samak of corruption and of seeking to amend the Constitution to allow the return of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin was ousted in a coup two years ago, returned to Thailand early this year, then fled this month to London, where he is seeking asylum to avoid several court cases alleging corruption and abuse of power that he says are politically motivated.

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"I have been very patient and have refrained from using force," Samak said, referring to a five-day protest in which thousands of people have camped out on the grounds of his office, forcing him to conduct government business elsewhere.

Early today, he paid a visit to King Bhumibol Adulyadej in a sign of the seriousness of the political confrontation. Although the king has no political power under the Constitution, he wields the power of moral authority in Thailand and has stepped in to resolve political crises in the past.

There was no immediate word on the reason for the meeting or its outcome. Samak said he had initiated the meeting rather than being summoned.

The crisis has begun to affect Thailand's tourism industry as anti-government protesters blockaded runways for a second day at the popular resort areas of Phuket and Krabi. A third international airport, at Hat Yai, reopened Saturday.

Thousands of tourists were stranded in Phuket and Krabi. A number of international flights were being diverted to Bangkok, where airports remained unaffected by the protests.

The airport blockades aimed at a crucial industry for Thailand, and one that is easily hurt by disruptions and negative publicity. Travel to Thailand has grown over the years and now earns about $16 billion a year.

Phuket is Thailand's second-busiest airport, visited by one-third of the 15 million people who travel to Thailand each year. Tourism there suffered a serious blow after a tsunami in December 2004 killed thousands of foreign tourists.

A second day of a work stoppage by some railway workers was causing the cancellation of dozens of scheduled journeys around the country.

The country's influential army commander, Gen. Anupong Paochinda, rejected a request by Samak Friday to declare a state of emergency, a top army official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information. Anupong has vowed that the army will not intervene and has called for resolving the crisis by political means.